I thought about these all day long!  I was looking around Epicurious.com last night for something different to do with shrimp and came across a recipe for Shrimp Cakes!  It sounded really, really good and juuuust easy enough to do on a school night!  Shrimp Cakes…  Shrimp Cakes… Shrimp Cakes…

Do you think I might be obsessing about food since starting our new eating regimen?!?   Nah…..  I’ve always obsessed about food.  This is nothing new!

But I digress…

If you’re not familiar with epicurious, one of the more fun things about the site is the comment section with each recipe.  While one can occasionally get a good tip about a recipe from someone who has already made it, more often than not, the comments are from people who are really full of themselves  and use the comments section to let the world know just how perfect they are, how perfect their cooking ability is, how they only make their chicken stock with designer chickens hand-plucked by virgins at midnight during a full moon…  Pontificating on anything and everything.  Or silly things like one person who said she didn’t follow the recipe and they were  horrible – she’ll never make them, again.  Hello?!?   I can’t wait to find the next recipe she doesn’t follow and find out how badly that one came out.   It can be a fun read.

I do have to admit when I first saw this recipe that I wasn’t sure about using the sliced almonds.  I kinda thought that ground almonds would probably be better.  But…  What the heck.  I gave it a shot.

9-18-shrimp-cake-1

Almond-Crusted Shrimp Cakes with Lemon Soy Mayonnaise

For lemon soy mayonnaise

  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste

For shrimp cakes

  • 1 bacon slice, chopped
  • 3/4 lb large shrimp in shell (21 to 25 per lb), peeled and deveined
  • 1 slice firm white sandwich bread
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup chopped scallions (about 4)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups sliced almonds (6 oz)
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Garnish: lemon wedges and fresh cilantro leaves

Make lemon soy mayonnaise:
Stir together all mayonnaise ingredients in a small bowl. Chill until ready to serve.

Make shrimp cakes:
Pulse chopped bacon in food processor until finely chopped. Pat shrimp dry, then add to bacon and pulse just until shrimp is coarsely chopped (do not purée). Soak bread in milk in a shallow bowl until very soft, about 30 seconds. Add wet bread to shrimp mixture, discarding any remaining milk, and pulse until just combined.

Transfer shrimp mixture to a bowl, then stir in scallions, cilantro, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and pepper until combined well.

Spread almonds on a large plate. Using a 1/4-cup measure, drop 1 mound of shrimp mixture onto almonds. Sprinkle almonds over shrimp mound to coat, gently pressing to form a (3 1/2-inch) cake (1/3 inch thick). Transfer cake to a wax-paper-lined baking sheet. Make 7 more cakes in same manner, transferring to baking sheet. Discard any remaining almonds.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook 4 cakes, turning over once and rotating for even browning, until almonds are golden and cakes are just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes total. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Discard any almonds left in skillet, then add remaining tablespoon oil and cook remaining 4 cakes in same manner. Serve warm, with lemon soy mayonnaise.

My only change was I used a pound of already peeled and deveined shrimp.  I saw no benefit to peeling and cleaning shrimp I was going to chop.

They had a great shrimp flavor and ust a tad of smoke from the bacon.  I really, really liked the sliced almonds, but Victor wasn;t crazy about them.  He thought they were okay – but he would have liked a different coating – maybe almond meal or bread crumbs.  He thought it was a bit overpowering for the shrimp.  Since I definitely think I shall be making these again, I’ll see what other coatings I can come up with.

The lemon soy mayo was a bit too soy-ish for me.  I think a lot less soy and more lemon would be good.  And more Tabasco.  I like Tabasco!

The potatoes were just cut into rounds and baked with a bit of garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper.

The broccoli was another idea courtesy of epicurious…  It was okay…

Garlicky Breadcrumb-Coated Broccoli

  • 3 large broccoli stalks (about 1 1/2 pounds total), stalks trimmed to 4 to 5 inches long, each stalk halved lengthwise
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
  • 3 small garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Steam broccoli until tender, about 9 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Do ahead Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and sauté until soft, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add breadcrumbs, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until pale golden, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir in mint and lemon peel.

Add broccoli to breadcrumbs and sauté until heated through, turning broccoli to coat, about 3 minutes. Arrange broccoli on platter. Sprinkle any remaining breadcrumbs over and serve.

Oh… and we decided the shrimp cakes would make a great hors d’oeuvre.  Just make ’em tiny!